Monday, 6/9/97 UCLA famous for turning out world-class athletes
Exceptional Bruins make efforts for community’s sake as well
By Vytas Mazeika Daily Bruin Staff With another class of UCLA
graduating seniors ready to join the professional ranks, the
Bruins’ tradition of excellence in sports, not to mention their
contributions to society, will continue. Athletes are not simply
measured by their efforts on the field, but also by their
achievements off the field. Throughout our history as an
institution, UCLA has always enjoyed the privilege of harboring a
great deal of athletes who have the will to succeed in both their
sport and in life. There exists a laundry list of athletes that
have worn blue and gold before becoming professionals. UCLA has
become a never-ending well of talent for the professional leagues
of every sport. The most famous athlete to graduate from UCLA is
Jackie Robinson. While at UCLA, he became UCLA’s only four-sport
letterman. After leaving the Bruins, Robinson broke the color
barrier in major league baseball (MLB) by suiting up in Dodger
blue. Now players of any ethnicity and nationality are able to play
in any sport thanks to Robinson’s efforts. The baseball Hall of
Famer won the inaugural rookie-of-the-year award in MLB while being
the recipient of a great deal of jeers and taunts from unfriendly
crowds. But Robinson never allowed his emotions to get the better
of him, as he was very well aware of the importance that he succeed
in his attempts to integrate professional baseball. Robinson is an
extreme example of the efforts on and off the court that make UCLA
graduates stand out in society. Many other Bruin athletes have
managed to impact the lives of people. These athletes may not have
had the same impact as Robinson, but their efforts have allowed
these Bruin athletes to receive their own fame. Maybe only one
other athlete to have graduated from UCLA could be compared to
Robinson as far as their contribution to society go. Arthur R.
Ashe, Jr. provided both the tennis community and society as a whole
with philanthropic acts. Ashe is without a doubt the first dominant
and celebrated African-American male tennis player to grace both
the collegiate and professional scenes. He was the first ever
African-American to win at Wimbledon (1975), also winning the U.S.
Open (1968), Australian Open (1970), and playing a grand-slam event
at the French Open. During his college years, the serve-and-volley
style employed by Ashe peaked in 1965 when he brought home the
sought-after NCAA singles title. Under his leadership as captain,
the Bruins finally won the NCAA team title after placing as
runner-ups for three straight years. However, Ashe’s achievements
on the court paled to those off the court. Ashe was an individual
who accomplished extraordinary results in humanitarian fields,
social equity and educational opportunity using athletics as his
avenue. Ashe was one of the founding fathers of the present-day
Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He also founded the
National Junior Tennis League (NJTL) in 1969. Ashe felt that
physical education plays an important role in the educational
growth of young adults. The most important part of Ashe’s life is
that Ashe was never afraid to take a stance on any subject. When he
was diagnosed with AIDS, which he acquired after a blood
transfusion in 1984, Ashe’s true character became very obvious to
most people. He always expressed his ideas on topics such as tennis
for the urban youth, apartheid in South Africa, treatment of
HIV-infected and AIDS patients, and the need for enhanced academic
standards for incoming NCAA student-athletes. Although Robinson and
Ashe do not put the accomplishments of other athletes to shame,
both of these extraordinary individuals do grab the spotlight for
their significant achievements. Nevertheless, the list of names of
Bruin athletes who have managed to change society is still quite
large. In basketball alone UCLA has a great deal of athletes who
came out and had an impact. Names like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (the
NBA’s all-time scoring leader and Hall of Famer), Bill Walton,
Reggie Miller, and Donald Barksdale (the first ever
African-American Olympic basketball gold medalist) all have had a
high place in society’s social ladder. In football, Bruin alumni
such as All-Americans Troy Aikman and Kenny Washington (first
African-American to play in the NFL) have also enjoyed success
after their UCLA careers. In baseball, players such as Eric Karros,
Todd Zeile, Bill Haselman have gone on to contribute in the major
leagues. Karros, who was drafted by the Dodgers, hit a career-high
34 home runs this past season. Under the tutelage of Bruin coach
Gary Adams, Karros not only became a better baseball player but
also the kind of individual who gives back to the community. Karros
contributes plenty of money to different organizations, including a
$100,000 donation to UCLA and holding the sports chair of the 65
Roses cystic fibrosis organization. In track and field, two names
stand out; Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Rafer L. Johnson. Joyner-Kersee
is a three-time Olympic track and field gold medalist who while at
UCLA was also a four-year basketball starter. She participated in
the 1984, ’88 and ’92 Olympics. Johnson is the 1960 Olympic
decathlon gold medalist. But even more important is the fact that
Johnson is the President of the California Special Olympics and a
1984 Olympic torchbearer. The list of athletes keeps going on and
on. There are a great many deal of athletes that graduate from UCLA
and continue to have success in both sports and life – names like
Karch Kiraly and Sinjin Smith (men’s volleyball Olympic gold
medalists), Ann Meyers (women’s basketball and current
broadcaster), Paul Caligiuri (soccer Olympian) and Dottie
Richardson (women’s softball Olympic gold medalist) stand out.
There are many more athletes who have not been mentioned, but there
are many more who will need to be mentioned in the future. UCLA’s
longstanding tradition of recruiting athletes who excel in both
sports and life may be continued by names such as Troy Glaus
(baseball), Mebrahtom Keflezighi (track and field) and Paul
Nihipali (volleyball). The fact of the matter is that with names
such as Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe and Jackie Joyner-Kersee as
part of UCLA’s legacy, there are still many more athletes that can
be added to the Bruins’ laundry list of contributors to society.
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